406 



CURSORES.- 



-BIRDS.- 



- Struthionid.e. 



shield. The bones of which the skeleton is composed 

 are also almost destitute of those large air cells, which 

 in other birds reduce tlieir weight so greatly, and thus 

 facihtate their motion in the air. 



As these birds are thus destined to a strictly terres- 

 trial mode of existence, their whole conformation is 

 adapted to the augmentation of tlieir power of running, 

 which they do with extraordinary swiftness, and hence 

 the name of cursores or runners, is applied to them 

 with great propriety. The pelvis, which gives attach- 

 ment to the legs, is very large and firm, and the pubic 

 arch is complete, a structure which docs not occur 

 in other birds. The anterior part of the pelvis also 

 encases the lumbar region of the spine, and thus the 

 whole apparatus becomes very large and strong. The 

 legs are greatly developed, both in length and strength, 

 and terminated by two or three toes, which generally 

 form a sole of great firmness. In only one living genus, 

 the curious Aptei-yx, do we find any trace of a hinder 

 toe, and this is very rudimentary. 



The neck is elongated in proportion to the length of 

 tlie legs, and in most of the species the bill is short, 

 depressed, broad, and triangular when viewed from 

 above ; in the genus Apteryx, on the contrary, the bill 

 is long and nearly cylindrical. The character of the 

 plumage is very peculiar, the feathers of the body 

 being always furnished with long separate barbs, which 

 in most cases present more resemblance in their general 

 aspect to hairs than to feathers. The head and neck 

 are frequently naked, or clothed only with down. 



In their internal structure these birds also present 

 some curious peculiarities; their fleshy tongue is free 

 at the tip, and they have a sort of rudimentary bladder 

 and traces of a diaphragm separating the thoracic from 

 the abdominal cavity — characters which, the latter espe- 

 cially, have been considered to indicate some slight 

 approach to mammalian structure. 



The living species form two families, of one of 

 which the Ostrich, and of the other the Apteryx, is 

 the type. 



Family I.— STRUTHI0NID7E. 



The general characters of this family have been 

 indicated above, by contrast with those peculiari- 

 ties mentioned as pertaining exclusively to the genus 

 Apteryx. The birds forming this genus have long, 

 muscular, and powerful legs, terminated b}' two or 

 three toes, and without the smallest rudiment of a 

 hinder toe ; the neck is elongated, and generally naked 

 or clothed only with down ; and the bill is broad, 

 depressed, and triangular, with the nostrils situated in 

 a groove near the base of the upper mandible. 



THE OSTRICH {Struthio Camdus) -Plate 21, fig. 79— 

 an inhabitant of the vast sandy deserts of Africa, is the 

 largest of living birds, measuring from six to eight feet 

 in height when it carries its head erect. It is distin- 

 guished from all the other species by the structure of 

 the feet, which have only two toes, of which tlie outer 

 one is considerably shorter than tlie inner. The gene- 

 ral appearance of this magnificent bird is well shown 

 in our figure ; its plumage consists of very soft decom- 

 posed featiiers, of which those of the wings and tail 



are greatly developed, and constitute the weU-knowri 

 Ostrich plumes. 



Over the boundless African deserts the Ostrich 

 roams in flocks, trusting, like the antelopes and other 

 quadrupeds of these regions, to its swiftness of foot for 

 security from animals of prey or the pursuit of man. 

 So rapid is its course, indeed, that the swiftest horse is 

 unable to keep up with it, and the hunters are com- 

 pelled either to bewilder it by approaching it in differ- 

 ent directions, or to drive it in a circle by continually 

 relieving each other in the pursuit, until the swift runner 

 is tired out. When in imminent danger, the Ostrich fre- 

 quently defends himself by violent kicks with his feet. 



The food of the Ostriches consists of herbage, seeds, 

 insects, worms, and snails, and probably of almost any 

 nutritive materials that come in their way ; in cap- 

 tivity they are known to be by no means particular in 

 their choice of diet, swallowing even such indigestible 

 articles as leather, wood, and iron. Whether these 

 hard substances assist the digestion of the bird like the 

 small stones swallowed bj' many other granivorous 

 species, we can hardly say ; but there is certainly no 

 foundation for the belief, formerly widely spread, and 

 perhaps still entertained by the ignorant, that the 

 Ostrich is capable of digesting metals. 



In its native wilds the Ostrich is polygamous in its 

 habits. The eggs, which are of large size, usually 

 weigliing about three pounds, are deposited to the 

 number of ten or twelve in a hole scratched in the 

 sand, where their evolution is eflected principally by 

 the heat of the sun. The female, however, watches 

 over them carefully, and sits upon them at night. The 

 young birds can run as soon as they quit the egg. 



THE NANDU(i?/iPa americana)—V\a.ie. 21, fig. 80— 

 also called the Rhea and the American Ostrich, is not 

 more than half the size of the African species, from 

 which it differs structurally in having three toes upon 

 each foot and the head and neck clothed with downy 

 feathers, and in the total absence of tail-feathers. The 

 plumes of the wings are elongated and decomposed, 

 somewhat resembling in their structure those of the 

 African Ostrich, to which, however, they are far inferior 

 in delicacy, and are only employed in the manufacture 

 of light brooms. This bird is found abundantly in 

 the great plains of South America, nearly down to its 

 southern extremity; it lives in flocks, and is polyga- 

 mous, but according to the late Earl of Derby the male 

 bird scratches the hole in the ground for the reception 

 of the eggs, which he collects from the scattered places 

 where they are frequently deposited by the females, 

 and afterwards sits upon them. According to Mr. 

 Darwin, the males, when thus engaged, sit so closely 

 tliat they may almost be ridden over before they will 

 stir ; but at the same time they are so fierce, that if 

 disturbed they will often attack the intruders, and have 

 even been known to leap up and endeavour to kick a 

 man on horseback. These birds, according to ]M)'. 

 Darwin, show no reluctance to take the water, but 

 will swim easily but slowly across even broad and rapid 

 rivers, or from island to island in bays. They are hunted 

 by men on horseback, and captured either by means 

 of the lasso, or with an instrument composed of two 

 large balls or heavy stones, united by a long leathern 



